Patriots Clips
The Eagles have been expected to trade A.J. Brown to the Patriots for some time and they officially pulled the trigger on the move on Monday afternoon.
The Eagles announced that they have agreed to send Brown to New England in exchange for a 2028 first-round pick and a 2027 fifth-round selection. Brown will need to pass a physical in order for the deal to be finalized.
Cap implications for trading Brown became less onerous at 4 p.m. ET on June 1 and the Eagles’ announcement came minutes after that moment passed. The Patriots will now inherit the final four years of Brown’s contract while the Eagles will split their remaining $43.8 million cap hit over the 2026 and 2027 seasons.
The Eagles added veteran receivers Hollywood Brown and Dontayvion Wicks before drafting Makai Lemon in the first round of April’s draft. They’ll join DeVonta Smith as Jalen Hurts’s top targets for the coming season.
Brown will now be Drake Maye’s No. 1 receiver in New England and he will be reunited with his former head coach with the Titans Mike Vrabel for a push at a Super Bowl ring to go with the one he earned in Philadelphia.
As soon as 4:01 p.m. ET on Monday, the deal can be made. As soon as Tuesday, it can become official.
So what will the Eagles get from the Patriots for the balance of the A.J. Brown contract?
Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports that the Eagles will get New England’s first-round pick in 2028.
The Eagles lacked significant leverage. The relationship had already run its course. The cap consequences after 2026 would have become more challenging. And no other team ever materialized as an option.
As McLane notes, the trade also allows the Eagles to avoid $133.1 million in cash obligations under the contract.
It feels like a matter of “when” not “if,” and the “when” is likely coming soon. If/when the Eagles emerge with the Patriots’ first-round pick in 2028, Philly will have a direct hand in pushing that pick higher in the pecking order — the two teams will play each other during the 2027 regular season.
The Colts have announced that Hall of Fame receiver Raymond Berry, who won two NFL titles with the Colts and later coached the Patriots to their first Super Bowl appearance, has died. He was 93.
In 13 NFL seasons after arriving in Baltimore as a 20th-round draft pick in 1954, Berry caught 631 passes for 9,275 yards and 68 touchdowns in 154 regular-season games. He was named to the NFL’s All-Decade Team of the 1950s, the NFL’s 75th Anniversary All-Time Team, and the NFL 100 All-Time Team.
The Colts won the NFL championship in 1958 and 1959. In the epic 1958 title game (known as the Greatest Game Ever Played), Berry caught 12 passes for 148 yards and a touchdown in a 23-17 overtime victory against the Giants.
Berry was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1973.
Immediately after his playing career ended, Berry went into coaching. After serving as a receivers coach with the Cowboys (1968-69), the University of Arkansas (1970-72), the Lions (1973-75), the Browns (1976-77), and the Patriots (1978-81), he returned to New England as the head coach in 1984.
In his second season, the Patriots advanced to Super Bowl XX against the Bears.
Berry coached the Patriots through 1989, generating a record of 51-41. He worked as quarterbacks coach for the Lions in 1991 and the Broncos in 1992.
Berry is a member of the Baltimore Ravens’ Ring of Honor, along with seven other Baltimore Colts players. His No. 82 was retired by the Colts.
We extend our condolences to Berry’s family, friends, and colleagues.
It’s trading day (potentially) for Eagles receiver A.J. Brown. Coincidentally, or not, Brown has shut down his Twitter page.
His account (@1kalwaysopen_) currently doesn’t exist. We don’t know when it was specifically deleted, but it currently is gone.
Victor Williams of USA Today flagged the development on Twitter last night. Various responses in the always-reliable (and typically reasonable) replies indicate it was deleted a while ago.
Regardless of when Brown left Twitter, he could be leaving Philly very soon.
A trade agreement could be reported or announced at any time. It can’t be finalized until 4:01 p.m. ET on Monday. It won’t become official (or officially official, as some still insist on saying) until Tuesday.
Regardless, no one believes Brown will be back with the Eagles for a fifth season. The vast majority believe he’ll be back with his initial NFL coach, Mike Vrabel.
Although the Eagles have no apparent alternatives — and, in turn, no significant leverage — there is one factor that could help get this thing over the finish line sooner than later. As one astute member of the media pointed out on Sunday, getting the deal done would push the story that had been dominating the New England news cycle in recent weeks.
Also, the Patriots still have two more weeks of OTAs and a late mandatory minicamp, running from June 15-17. Getting Brown onto the practice field ASAP gives him a head start on getting his feet wet in the Josh McDaniels offense before training camp starts.
Regardless, the window on spreading the dead-money charge over two years opens for the Eagles at 4:01 p.m. ET on Monday. And with Brown absent from Twitter, he won’t have to hear directly from Eagles fans when they wish him well, or otherwise, on the way out the door.
They have to install playing surfaces that meet exacting standards. They have to change the names of the facilities. They have to shut down all other business (such as major concerts) for the duration of the World Cup.
Given the hoops through which the 11 NFL stadiums will have to jump in order to placate FIFA, it’s fair to ask whether it’s worth it.
Ben Volin of the Boston Globe recently took a look at that question. Said an NFL official from a team that won’t be hosting any of the World Cup games, “I know more than a few teams weren’t disappointed to lose the bid.”
That could be sour grapes, because those who won the right to host the matches are crowing about it.
“Can’t sleep,” Cowboys owner and G.M. Jerry Jones said recently, per Volin. “This is a great chance to associate with the worldwide love with soccer, and lets us put a little notch on our belt and share it with what soccer’s about, too. They’ll never be able to take away that we held those games in that stadium.”
Cowboys executive Stephen Jones echoed the sentiment: “We’ll be shut down all summer. But it’s worth it. I mean, this is about brand and, you know, being a part of something special.”
The Joneses wanted to host the matches badly enough to give up their suite for the matches.
“I think I’ve got to go someplace else, but that was a part of it,” Jerry Jones said. “We did a lot of things to make this work.”
The Cowboys, Patriots, Falcons, Texans, Chargers/Rams, Giants/Jets, Chiefs, Seahawks, 49ers, Dolphins, and Eagles will be hosting World Cup games in their stadiums.
The total revenue is projected, per Volin, to be roughly $11 billion. FIFA will pay rent for the stadiums, while keeping the revenue from sponsorships, tickets, suites, merchandise, concessions, and parking.
So how much will the teams get for hosting the World Cup? Per Volin, the terms “have been kept under wraps.”
Given that folks like Jones are not known for doing bad deals, they’ll surely be making more money to host the World Cup matches than they would have made in a normal summer.
Still, it’s a headache. Extra work, extra expenses, extra hassles.
Not to mention the P.R. bruise that comes from the perception/reality that NFL owners who are giving FIFA the surfaces it demands while stubbornly refusing to do the same for pro football players.
When receiver A.J. Brown was traded from the Titans to the Eagles — and when then-Titans coach Mike Vrabel’s body language made clear his thoughts on the move — it happened suddenly. The next trade of Brown has been a slow burn.
Most expect Brown to be traded soon. The key date is June 1, because that’s the moment at which the Eagles can push millions in dead money into 2027.
Under the CBA (Article 13, Section 6(b)(ii)), the key language is “on or before June 1.” That means the trade can’t become official until June 2. (It can be done and filed at 4:01 p.m. ET on June 1; if so, it becomes official on June 2.)
Brown presumably will be required to pass a physical before the deal is done. As the Maxx Crosby non-trade to the Ravens made clear, there’s no guarantee that the physical will be passed. (Given the multiple reports that the Rams backed out of a potential deal for Brown in March due to available medical information, no player physical is a no-brainer.)
It doesn’t have to happen on June 2. When Vrabel’s Titans did a post-June 1 trade with the Falcons for receiver Julio Jones in 2021, it happened on June 6. As long as it occurs after June 1, the Eagles get the benefit of the delayed acceleration of Brown’s prorated bonus money.
Our sense as to the current status of the situation is this — and it’s a semi-educated assessment, not a “report.” The Eagles and Patriots have a tentative deal in place, and it’s been there since before the draft. But the Eagles have retained the ability to accept a better offer if they get one. And the Patriots are confident that the Eagles won’t get a better offer.
Another team could swoop in at the last minute. Reports that the Eagles want a 2027 first-round pick imply that the Patriots haven’t offered one. And it also sends a message that, if another team wants to snatch Brown away from the Patriots, a 2027 first-round pick will do that.
The recent report that the Eagles and Patriots are “not particularly close” on a deal seemed to be a last-ditch effort by the Eagles to get someone else to the table.
That said, another team would have to persuade Brown to embrace that opportunity. He wants, by all appearances, to reunite with Vrabel and to play for the Patriots. Even though Brown doesn’t have a no-trade clause in his contract, no team is going to give up a first-round pick for a player who doesn’t want to play there.
If/when the Eagles trade Brown to the Patriots, the depth chart in New England becomes very crowded. Brown immediately would be the No. 1 receiver, with newcomer Romeo Doubs sliding to No. 2. Mack Hollins or Demario “Pop” Douglas would be No. 3. The other would potentially be No. 4. Kyle Williams, a third-round pick in 2025, would be fighting for playing time and targets.
Kayshon Boutte, who has been absent from offseason workouts, would potentially be traded. (He could be part of the Brown deal, but that would leave the Eagles with too many receivers, too, given the offseason arrivals of Hollywood Brown, Dontayvion Wicks, Elijah Moore, and first-round rookie Makai Lemon.)
The first step is the A.J. Brown trade. If it happens. When it happens. The “when” could be this week.
And the biggest surprise at this point would be a decision by the Eagles to not trade him. All signs are pointing to the Eagles moving on. Whatever the root cause of the dysfunction, the relationship has run its course. And the Eagles, as some in league circles firmly believe, need to do it this year to avoid an even more complicated cap situation in the future.
For the Eagles and Patriots is now. More accurately, the future is as soon as Tuesday.
Former Patriots coach Jerod Mayo, who spent several years in the business world between the end of his playing career and the start of his coaching career, has officially left football for a second time.
Via Chris Mason of MassLive.com, Mayo took a job in February 2026 as a managing director at Fifth Down Capital, a private equity and business capital firm.
Mayo posted the information on his LinkedIn profile.
A first-round pick of the Patriots in 2008, Mayo played in New England for eight years. He then spent three years as V.P. of business development at Optum, a healthcare services company and a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group.
He returned to the Patriots in 2019, as inside linebackers coach. He signed an extension in early 2023, which included an agreement to eventually succeed Bill Belichick as the head coach.
That happened after the 2023 season; Belichick was fired and Mayo was promoted into the head-coaching role. The Patriots decided after Mayo’s first season on the job (during which the Patriots went 4-13) to part ways with Mayo.
Mayo, 40, could still return to coaching, in theory. For now (and possibly for good), Mayo will be moving on from the game.
Patriots right guard Mike Onwenu has agreed to a revised contract for the 2026 season.
According to multiple reports, Onwenu will now make $10 million in the final year of his three-year deal with the team. That’s a cut of $7.5 million from his original compensation and the payout will now be fully guaranteed.
Onwenu has started every game for the Patriots over the last two seasons and 66 of the team’s last 68 regular season contests. The 2020 sixth-round pick has made 98 career appearances for New England.
The move also creates $7.5 million in cap space for the Patriots. That could go toward another move like the long-rumored trade for wide receiver A.J. Brown, but the Patriots were already well under the cap before the move.
The clock is ticking toward June 1. Which means the time is coming for an A.J. Brown trade.
The vibe has lingered for weeks that the Eagles will trade him. At this point, there’s only one viable destination: New England.
If there was another team pursuing Brown, we’d know about it. The Eagles would have leaked it. The goal would be to pit two teams against each other in the hopes of getting the best possible return.
As it stands, it’s the Patriots or no one. And with all indications pointing to the Eagles and Brown being beyond the point of no return, Philly’s only play is to make a deal.
They’ve already planned for life without A.J. From signing Hollywood Brown and Elijah Moore to trading for Dontavian Wicks to moving up in round one to draft Makai Lemon, the handwriting isn’t just written on the wall — it’s sandblasted into it.
But what of the report that the two sides are “not particularly close”? Our guess is that the Eagles deliberately leaked it as a Hail Mary effort to get someone else to come to the table.
Remember, nothing is done until it’s done. Even if the Patriots and the Eagles have an understanding as to what the terms will be, the Eagles could pivot elsewhere if they want.
The question is whether another team will swoop in. Even if that happens, it would have to be a team that Brown is comfortable joining. No, he doesn’t have a no-trade clause. Still, no team in its right mind will trade for Brown if Brown doesn’t particularly want to play for that team.
If Brown has decided he craves a reunion with Mike Vrabel, who coached Brown in Tennessee, a new team may not be thrilled about the prospect of giving up significant value for a player who would walk through the door reluctantly.
For several weeks, it has seemed like A.J. Brown would be on his way to the Patriots once the calendar reached early June.
But there is now reporting that suggests the framework for a trade may not be done.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Network said on Wednesday night that the Patriots and Eagles may still be haggling over the trade terms.
“As far as the actual trade, we’re all waiting for June 1 to happen, so the cap hit is in half for the Philadelphia Eagles and they can trade [Brown],” Rapoport said. “I just don’t know that it’s going to be like ‘snap your fingers and the deal is done,’ because the two sides are where they have been — which is the Eagles wanting a first-round pick in 2027. The Patriots — being the most likely destination, we’ll see if someone else arises — but the Patriots [are] not willing to give up a first-round pick, as of right now.
“That means they’re not particularly close, and there’s a chance this could drag on for the foreseeable future.”
But just because the two sides haven’t agreed on compensation at this point does not mean the deal won’t go through next week once the calendar hits June.
With so much smoke around Brown heading to the Patriots throughout the offseason, it would be an upset if the wideout ends up playing anywhere else in 2026.
